20 years of The Dawn Chorus

Venue:

Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

Date: 19/07/2025

20 years ago a band of trainee school teachers formed in Fareham. They released two albums of “South Coast Indie-Folk”, slogged round the toilet circuit in a van during the school holidays, and drank too much (often the only payment for a pub gig). I loved ’em, fed and watered them, and put them on five or six times in various Cambridge pubs over four years. I’d do the sound for them whenever I could. After seven years of support tours with the likes of Frank Turner, they were exhausted and called it to a halt before they all fell out.

Last December they met up for a 40th birthday seven-a-side footy match and decided to reform for one night only in their hometown venue. Saturday night was the night in question.

Saturday lunchtime saw me my my youngest offspring set off in driving rain, heavy traffic on every road south, finally to arrive at the Portsea Island, exhausted, 10 minutes after doors opened. Our chance to socialise with the band beforehand had been eaten up by the Chichester ring-road.

I only caught two songs by Kat Meredith and her band, featuring a moonlighting TDC guitarist Neil. Next up was floating TDC member Wit with his Americana band The Persuit of Pleasure. With their M-F twin vocals, brushed drums and lapsteel, they reminded me greatly of The Walkabouts. I bought their LP from the merch desk during the interval.

At 9:15pm the five-piece TDC came on and launched straight into The Hope Will Kill Us (ironic, perhaps). When Paul Butler’s trumpet fanfare marked the start of The Big Adventure, the whole place lit up. The next 90 minutes flew by, every few songs gaining another musician (including Wit on accordion) until eight occupied the stage. Kyle D Evans played a solo encore of No Man Is Poor Who Has Friends (originally by TDC splinter-project The Retrospective Soundtrack Players) to a mass singalong. Finally the whole band came back on for an extended Blast From The Present, with trumpeter Paul playing while being carried round the venue on the shoulders of an audience member, so nothing much has changed with age.

When Kyle announced during the final encore that this was our last chance ever to sing along to a TDC song, there was nary a dry eye in the house. Bittersweet tears and manic grins. Strangers hugged and danced. I’ve never seen the like.

The audience:

The band members have 14 kids between them, with three generations of family present. I didn’t travel the furthest, the promoter of their 2010 Manchester gigs won that crown. Two fans had flown in from Philadelphia. 230 paying punters plus family fitted comfortably into the not-sold-out medium-sized venue (TDC sold it out for their final gig in 2012). So much love in the room for the lads onstage made it fell more like a family party than a gig.

It made me think..

If the definition of a great gig is a combination of performers and audience sharing a communal experience, this was possibly/probably the best gig I have ever attended. My lad was equally taken. How am I going to top that?

While Oasis were playing Heaton Park to a sold-out audience who had paid hundreds of pounds each, 230 people had paid just £10 each to have the night of their lives.

I really hope they can be persuaded to do it again in another decade.

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